Burrows Sanitation sits on 10 acres in Hartford, Michigan, where plating sludges, waste coolants, and oils were dumped into unlined lagoons from 1970 to 1977. That disposal contaminated groundwater, surface water, soils, sediments, and lagoons with heavy metals and volatile organic compounds. EPA added the site to the National Priorities List in September 1984 and organized cleanup work across multiple operable units.
Six contaminants drive the cleanup: chromium, copper, cyanide, lead, nickel, and zinc. All six appear in sludge, groundwater, soil, sediment, and surface water across the site. EPA determined each poses unacceptable risk to human health or the environment based on the amounts present and their potential health and ecological effects.
Cleanup involved several steps. A 1984 removal action disposed of sludges and contaminated soils to address immediate threats. By 1989, workers had excavated and disposed of contaminated surface soils and sediments and rechanneled an adjacent wetland. A groundwater extraction and treatment system then ran from 1992 to 1995 to address a small plume of contaminated groundwater. Construction was formally completed on April 5, 1993. Monitoring of nearby private groundwater wells continued after treatment ended.
EPA has determined that human exposure is under control across the entire site and that contaminated groundwater migration has been stabilized with no unacceptable discharge to surface water. All cleanup goals for current and reasonably anticipated future land uses have been met. EPA classified the site as Sitewide Ready for Anticipated Use in January 2008 and deleted it from the National Priorities List on July 14, 2015. Five-year reviews conducted through February 2013 confirmed the remedy continues to protect human health and the environment. Operations and maintenance activities are ongoing.
Institutional controls remain in place to limit land use. Zoning restrictions prevent residential development and other uses incompatible with the cleanup levels achieved. Community members with questions about site conditions or those controls can contact the EPA Remedial Project Manager.
